One of the earliest scheduled shows to kick off Forecastle this Friday, the Denver band Kinetix will start things off with a high-energy attack of rock blended with funk and a hint of hip-hop on the East Stage at 4:30 p.m. I spoke with the group's bass player Josh Fairman, who offered a little insight on what Kinetix will bring to town as they finish up a swing through the northeast on their way to Forecastle and points west.
Fairman said that he and fellow guitarist Jordan Linit have been playing music together since they were about 13 years old in Columbia, Missouri. And when they both went to the University of Denver, they met up with what became the rest of Kinetix – fellow students at the Lamont School of Music -- guitarist Adam Lufkin, keyboardist Eric Blumenfeld, and drummer Jack Gargan. All were jazz performance majors, honing their skills on their preferred instruments.
Fairman said that the band grew out of the friends simply jamming together and then starting to play gigs in bars around Denver. All of the study and varied musical backgrounds and tastes somehow merged into a cohesive sound, which Fairman described simply as “high-energy, rockin', fun music.”
Kinetix' success has been fueled by great word-of-mouth from their live performances and truly grassroots efforts that have had them playing a national circuit almost from the beginning. Band members hail from Columbia, Denver, Chicago, and Boston. “We're from all over the place, so pretty much right in that first year when we started playing, everyone booked a show in their hometown, and a couple in between, so our first tour went all the way from Denver to New York City and back.” They've now played in over 200 cities, still independent, and popular on the festival schedule.
When I asked what their favorite “rock star” moment has been so far in the five years since they put out their first album, the answer was easy. After debuting their latest CD, Let Me In, in May, which hit the iTunes Top 200 Rock Chart at #47, they played a sold out CD-release show and noticed an older guy hanging out back stage. “We were saying who's this guy? ...And he said, 'How would you guys like to play at Red Rocks?' And we were like, oh my God, are you serious?” The legendary open-air amphitheater near Morrison, Colorado was a dream-venue for Kinetix, and they ended up playing in front of 9,000 people to open a film series. For a taste of a Kinetix live performance, check out the video below.
Check out Forecastle’s schedule page and band notes on the Lineup page. Ticket options and the various special packages available can be viewed on the Forecastle site as well.
